The Linux Professional

Why Certify?

Welcome to The Linux Professional. Over the past few years, several
Linux certification options have come to market, creating a new but
somewhat cloudy landscape for professionals in search of professional
credentials. In this series of articles, we'll take a look at current
developments and trends in certification for Linux system
administration. I'll share some of my certification experiences with
you, and discuss evolving certification and training programs.

Until recently, few resources were available for those interested in
the Linux job market. However, web sites such as
jobs.linux.com
and jobs.linuxtoday.com,
along with a number of technical jobs
databases, are making a Linux job search much easier. Of course, with
wide media coverage, wild stock successes, and preinstalled Linux
systems available from major manufacturers, Linux is no longer an
obscure operating system, and more jobs are sure to follow. Coupling this with a
worldwide shortage of IT talent, we could make a case that the Linux
job market will eventually be a piece of cake for even the most
inexperienced candidates among us. It seems, on the surface at least,
that differentiating yourself from the other candidates for
Linux-related positions may not be necessary.

"We're likely to see a surge in demand for Linux
employees and a complementary increase in the Linux training and
certification market."

In the Windows world just the opposite is true. Applicants holding
a Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (MCSE) certification can expect to increase their chances of landing
a job, and do so with better pay, than a similarly experienced
non-MCSE. To satisfy the resulting demand, a huge market for training
classes, books, exam prep software, and other resources has
appeared. While we can't underestimate the influence of Microsoft's
marketing muscle in creating momentum for MCSEs, the demand for
Windows administrators is large in part because of the commodity
nature of the Windows platform. On the other hand, in the traditional
Unix market, I think it's fair to say that Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, SCO,
and the other proprietary Unix operating systems are specialties.
Finding expert developers and administrators for those OSs is a
challenge, and the mentor/apprentice approach, with some vendor
training and perhaps certification thrown in for good measure, is
adequate to grow experts from within.

Right now, we can probably say
that Linux is also a specialty, but in the future we'll probably see a
shift in that thinking, and Linux will become a commodity product
too. I hope that good Linux mentors will be around to develop future
talent. However, we're likely to see a surge in demand for Linux
employees and a complementary increase in the Linux training and
certification market. The result may be a job market similar to the
present one for MCSEs. With a bunch of resumes floating around HR
departments, each with a Linux certification proudly displayed, what
will become of resumes lacking that stamp of approval?

Linux Certifications

So just what does it mean to be "Linux certified"? Unix certification
programs have existed for some time, mainly provided by Unix
vendors. Neutral certifications have been a goal, but are also a hotly
debated topic. The System Administrator's Guild, an arm of the USENIX Association, is laying the groundwork for
a vendor-neutral and OS-neutral certification program, but it's a long
way off. Time will tell if such a certification will serve the needs
of commodity Linux deployment.

"The RHCE certification is thorough and practical,
requiring the hands-on demonstration of
non-trivial debugging and setup skills."

Red Hat Certified Engineer. A few Linux-specific
certification programs are already
maturing. Red Hat Software's distribution-specific Red Hat Certified
Engineer (RHCE) program has been very successful. From a personal
marketability standpoint, the RHCE is arguably quite worthwhile, due to
Red Hat's popular position in the Linux world and on Wall
Street. Having attained the RHCE certification, I can attest that it
is thorough and practical, requiring the hands-on demonstration of
non-trivial debugging and setup skills. These features differentiate
the RHCE certificate from other, computer-administered certificates.
Unfortunately, due to the practical nature of the RHCE exam, it is not
as widely available as its competitors. It is administered at Red Hat
headquarters in Durham, N.C., and at a selected group
of Global Knowledge testing centers.
The RHCE exam costs US$749.

Wave/Sair. A distribution-neutral program you
may want to consider is the
Sair Linux and GNU Certification program. The Sair program certifies candidates in three levels: Administrator,
Engineer, and Master Engineer, with four exams each, priced at about
US$100 each. The first four exams are available now at Sylvan
Prometric centers worldwide. While
this program does not include the hands-on aspects of
the RHCE exam, it is quite
thorough, and like the RHCE has garnered significant interest in the
press. It's also attracted corporate suitor
Wave Technologies,
one of the larger technical training
vendors, who has inked an agreement to acquire Sair, Inc.

Wave will be
continuing the Sair Linux and GNU Certification program through a new
division of Wave Technologies. Clearly, corporate
America sees an investment strategy in Linux certification. And while
corporate acquisitions cannot be construed to predict a market
reality, Wave's move cannot be overlooked.

Prosoft. A program from
Prosoft Training
offers a single exam to qualify as a Linux Certified
Administrator. The exam is also delivered at Sylvan Prometric. It is
similar to the basic Sair tests, but doesn't go into as much
detail. This exam is coupled to Prosoft's Linux training program.

You might say the Linux Professional
Institute's exam development is equivalent to the open source
software model. Let's call it "community testing."

Linux Professional Institute. These programs offer
credible certificates by successful companies.
However, a new alternative also exists. In January 2000, the first exam
from the Linux Professional Institute became available.
The LPI certification program is unique in the marketplace for a number
of reasons:

You might say it is the exam development equivalent to the open source
software model. Let's call it "community testing." The LPI is
planning on a series of three exams for its first level of
certification, titled "Linux Professional Institute Certified," or
LPIC.

The LPI T1A Exam

I recently sat for LPI exam T1A at a Virtual University Enterprises
affiliated testing center near my home. When you
register, the exam is awkwardly labeled "117 1A Beta" and costs US$100
for each attempt.

I didn't encounter many surprises during the
test, and found the experience similar to other computer-administered
exams, such as those required for the MCSE. It is delivered on a PC in
a private room with no notes or other reference material. Students are
given 90 minutes to complete 60 questions.

About 75 percent of the exam is
multiple-choice, single-answer questions. Some of them
present a scenario needing administrative action. Others seek
appropriate commands for a particular task or for proof of
understanding of a particular concept. All of these questions contain
five possible choices with a radio button selector for responses.

A few of the questions are multiple-choice, multiple-answer questions,
which are answered using checkboxes. These questions have one or more
correct responses, each of which must be checked. These are probably
the most difficult style because the multiple answers increase the
likelihood of mistakes. An incorrect response on any one of the five
possible answers will cause you to miss the entire question.

The last 15 percent or so of the exam consists
of freeform answer questions, which use
a one-line text area for your typed response. Some of these questions
check your knowledge on things such as important files, commands, or
well-known items that can be expected to be drawn from memory.

The 1A
test is aimed at junior level administrators. Experienced Linux
administrators will probably pass the test without difficulty.

Conclusion

If you're thinking about Linux certification, you'll need to choose
the program that best suits your career needs. Do you want to pursue a
distribution-specific certificate or one that's neutral? Do you
suspect that one of the existing certification programs will become
more meaningful than the others? No matter what you choose, you or
your employer will be paying a price for your exams. Time will tell if
that cost is warranted, and the extent to which employers depend on
the various Linux certifications in their hiring decisions.

Future articles in this series will give an overview of the LPI,
Sair/Wave, and Red Hat certification programs and exams, and will
highlight new developments in Linux certification and training.

You may be wondering if I passed the LPI exam. Since it's so
new, it is still in "beta" stage while the LPI creates statistics on
exam results in order to set pass/fail thresholds. So, I'll have to bite
my nails until my results are released. In the meantime, I'll be
preparing for the upcoming LPI 1B exam, due out in the coming
months. Wish me luck.

Jeff Dean is an engineering and IT professional currently writing a Linux certification handbook for O'Reilly and Associates.